Pokèmon GX: Amanda's Journey (revised)
by archivewriter3
Summary: Amanda Greenland is a teen starting out on her Pokèmon journey as a trainer. She will encounter various trials throughout her journey, but even when she feels like all is lost, she is reminded that her power lies in those around her. The power she uses to take on the vices and evil of the Johto region. The power she uses to help and defend... The power of spirit.
1. Intro

**Pokèmon GX: Amanda's journey(Revised Version)**

 **Intro**

 **W** **elcome all, to this fic. As Archivewriter2 I started this fic as my first and best work. It was full of promise, but childish errors. I've experienced quite a bit since then, and learned just as much. For anyone who wants to see the difference, you should check this story of the same name by Archovewriter2 and you will see what I mean. This done, it is time to welcome you all.**

 **In this grand beginning of a continuity, the start of something old as if new...**

 **A young heroine shall arise through the ashes and works of those before her, picking up the torch to carry on the fight...**

 **Through her trials, she will make good friends, and many foes...**

 **But she will persevere, she will triumph through it all, knowing that the pain of the process makes the ending sweeter...**

 **She will come to protect those who cannot do so themselves, help others like her, and utterly destroy those who care not for life and its meaning.**

 **She will bring order to this region, and something more...**

 **She will bring...**

 _ **Hope.**_

 **Welcome...**

 **To Pokémon GX: Amanda's Journey.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Bright Summer Morn'**

Amanda was woken up by the sound of her mother's voice that shouted,

"Amanda! Get out of bed! You don't want to be late to start your journey!"

She smiled to herself as she stretched in her bed. Her 14th birthday was a few weeks ago, and that meant she was legally allowed to start her journey as a Pokémon trainer. She jumped out of bed and after going through the normal morning rituals, got into her clothes and admired herself in the mirror.

The teen trainer had her blue hair in two pigtails held in place with two red hairbands and with a fringe that was just a few millimetres from her eyebrows. She had on a red short sleeved t-shirt under a white long-sleeved jacket that stopped at her midriff, a pair of grey sweatpants shorts and a pair of blue and white sneakers.

She blushed a bit at her figure while shaking off any lewd thoughts and walked calmly to the door. Before she went down, however, she looked back to admire her room one last time. It looked like it belonged to a rampaging Dragonite and a teenage _boy_. Sports equipment was crammed in the bottom of the closet, books were lying around on the floor, the trashbin was full of graphs and crumpled sheets of paper and her game console's CD packs were lying gloriously on the TV. Yet there _was_ some order to the chaos. Her desk, which had her desktop along with some extra work space was neat and tidy. Her fluffy bed with blue Pokèball print was also neat and tidy, and her two potted plants were well-watered and kept by the windows.

As she walked downstairs, she saw er mom engaged in deep conversation with her sister, Matilda over cups of tea and warm waffles glazed with premium Combee honey. Amanda's stomach liked the smell, so it sent a message out through growling like a snarling dog Pokèmon. While Amanda reproached her tummy for interrupting her aunt and mom, the latter sighed and shook her head with a smile, pointing to the kitchen, where more waffles were waiting. Exchanging greetings, Amanda sat down for breakfast for what would probably be the last time in probably a month, if not a few could see the tears in her mother's eyes as she saw her only child get ready to leave home, and that made her stop eating and give her a hug.

"I love you mom. I'll make sure not to get into anything to dangerous... For you. And for dad." She muttered, the last part barely a whisper that was only heard by mother and daughter.

"I know your will and mind, Amanda. I know you wouldn't do anything I wouldn't do. At the same time, remember to do what _you_ would do." Diana instructed, hiving her daughter a kiss on the forehead before letting her finish her food.

Matilda looks at all this and smiled, before going to give Amanda good luck hug and surprisingly, a leather wallet with up to 5000 poke dollars in it.

"T-thanks, Auntie..." Amanda stammered, hugging her aunt as hard as she could.

After Amanda left, the two were now face to face, and there was a soft smile on Diana's lips.

"I know you were saving that for your daughter, Matilda. Thank you."

Matilda waved it of with rapid flicking of her hand, while her thoughts wandered to her unruly, rebellious child in question, who had run away for the third time.

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Amanda brightened up considerably once she was outside, even having a spring in her step. Her town of New Bark didn't offer much, but there was one thing that put it on the regional map; the Pokémon Lab. It was not too big, but yet researchers and scientists as well as trainers and even a few times, Gym Leaders came to town because of it. Amanda used to look at all the commotion from her room windows when she was younger, hoping, dreaming, about this day. Once she entered the building, she hurried past all the rooms and sub labs in the building complex, to where Prof. Elm's 'reception room' was. The aged man stopped typing on the computer he was using when she arrived and looked up with a look of surprise.

"Why, Amanda! You came so early! It's barely seven!"

She smirked. She was trained by her parents to be very punctual.

"Well, you can't start until we're all here."Prof. Elm said.

 _ **A bit too punctual, Amanda!**_ She thought to herself as she frowned.

While Prof. Elm was typing away, Amanda revised to pass some time. She looked over at her type sheet, where from the time she was eight to the time she was now, had been used to calculate the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of moves for any type. A few pokemon that piqued her interest were there too, such as Gyrados being considered a 'Flying' type due to the particles produced by its underbelly that allowed it to leap out of the water with such grace, speed and power. The same particles were produced by Doduo and Dodrio, Pokemon that were avian in all respects except their lack of wings. They could use the particles to leap high and run fast, so technically they were 'Flying' types. Another Pokemon mentioned under the whole flying type thing was Flygon, who could fly but didn't produce the particles. When she was ten, she nearly tore up the sheet due to these discoveries being made, but she was encouraged by her mom to be open minded, and she kept it. Now she was ready for such, and would meet her 'starter'. She saw the three Pokéballs on the table, but suddenly noticed something different. Instead of the signs to signify water, fire and grass, they stood for electricity, rock, and ice. She stared at the Professor, wondering,

 _ **Whatever happened to the good ol' choice of water, fire and grass, Prof. Elm!**_

She had been preparing all her life to choose a grass-type from the three, and all of her planning had gone down the drain. She was so angry that she didn't notice Lily, her childhood friend, walk in. What snapped her out of her thoughts was the sound of Lily's voice as she and the professor exchanged pleasantries.

Lily had green, full hair that reached her back and brown eyes with her fair complexion. She wore a light green, sleeveless top with an oxblood coloured skirt over a pair of brown shorts. As for her foot wait, she had on black baseball boots.

Amanda quickly snapped out of it and exchanged pleasantries as well, after which the Professor gave them their Pokédexes. They were both little laptops with their own keyboards and navigation pads and everything else. They had two screens; one was bigger and was blank with no information, while the other had a list format with a few options here and there. Both girls squealed with excitement as they were given the little laptops. Lily was given a green one while Amanda was given a blue one. Next they were shown the table with Pokéballs on them. Amanda watched Lily's expression as she beheld the sudden change in plans. Lily calmly asked why, to which Prof. Elm answered;

"This answer goes to both of you. I changed the arrangement of Starters because it'll allow for you trainers to make healthier decisions. I know both of you have been preparing for a long time to choose one of those three and hence, I changed the arrangement to allow for good use of your thinking and battle prowess. So, that said, come on, pick your partners."

Amanda and Lily looked at each other; each telling the other to choose first. Amanda finally fell through and picked up the Pokéball with the lightning bolt on it. Lily stepped forward and chose the Pokéball with the snowflake on it. Prof. Elm breathed a small sigh of relief before stating the following boringly like it was a rehearsed speech,

"You girls have chosen your starters. Treat them with love and care and they will protect you till their dying breath. From this moment you are a team with your Pokémon; they must be considered when planning or circumstances will quickly turn around against you. Now hold your Pokéballs up to your Pokédex lens."

Once Amanda's Pokéball button connected with her Pokédex, there was a beep and she saw the screens light up. In the corner of the larger screen, was a Pikachu, sleeping in a simulated habitat; a clearing in grass with it resting in a circle of smoldering sand. She looked over at Lily's Pokédex as the girl squealed in delight. There, on a small simulated ice floe with snow around it, was a Seel! Both read their Pokédex entries for their Pokémon in succession; Amanda starting first, and Lily, going second;

 **No. 025. Pikachu, the electric mouse Pokémon.**

 **This is a small, electric mouse-like Pokémon. When it is angered, it immediately discharges the energy stored in its cheeks. It has the ability to change the polarity of its electricity in order for it to deliver electric shocks accurately.**

 **This Pikachu is Male and knows the** **battle** **moves;** _ **Thundershock, Quick attack, Growl.**_

 **Known abilities are;** _ **Static, Lightning rod.**_

 **No. 086 Seel, the sea lion Pokémon.**

 **This is a Pokémon that looks like a white, sea lion. Its fur is water-proof and can camouflage it in its natural habitat. The protruding horn on its head is very hard. It is used for bashing through thick ice. It is an easily-trained Pokémon and can learn more than its fair share of both commands and moves.**

 **This Seel is a Male and knows the** **battle** **moves;** _ **Headbutt, Powder Snow, Tackle.**_

 **Known abilities are;** _ **Swift Swim, Thick Fat.**_

The teenagers had eyes wide with delight; a sight which brought a smile to Professor Elm's face. After they had fiddled with their devices for a while, he beckoned them to follow.

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He led them into a training room that was heavily armored with metal. As he went out, the girls heard his voice through a loudspeaker somewhere.

"Alright girls, throw your Pokéballs. Be careful; once they release your Pokémon, they'll bounce back in the same way you threw them. You'll get the hang of it sooner or later." The voice blared. Lily pressed the lock button and threw her Pokéball, releasing her Seel.

It was a pinniped Pokémon with a thick hide covered in bluish-white fur. It had a pale tan maw with a large red tongue and a pair of tusks on its lower jaw. It had circular eyes and a black nose. There was also a small horn on its forehead that seemed hard enough to bash through blocks of ice. It also had two flippers on its chest, and two more on the end of its tail. The Pokémon then raised its tail, which resembled a waterspout.

The Sea Lion Pokémon looked at her with a cute expression on his face and Lily could not resist the urge to kneel and pet her first Pokémon. As soon as she did so, however, Seel's ball whizzed dangerously over her head and hit the wall behind them with a loud clang. She stood up and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head while looking at a surprised Amanda. Prof. Elm's voice was heard again.

"Lily, you'll have enough time to bond a bit more with your Pokémon, but can you focus a bit more on the task at hand?"

The teenage girl replied with a small nod.

Amanda, by the way had finished observing and readied herself. She threw the ball and watched it fly back to her. At the last second she realized she didn't throw it well and scooted to the right, grasping the Pokéball before it flew out of her reach. Once done, she looked at her Pikachu.

It was a short, chubby, rodent Pokémon. It was covered in yellow fur, and its ears were long and pointed with black tips. It had a small mouth, brown eyes, and two red circles on its cheeks which contained its electricity sacs. Its forearms were short, with five fingers on each paw, and its feet had three toes. It had two brown horizontal stripes on its back, and its tail was in the shape of a lightning bolt with a patch of brown fur at the base. It was larger than average.

 _ **Probably all the care in the lab,**_ she supposed.

A loud whir was heard, and two Pokémon dummies stood at the end of the room. Amanda faced a Magikarp dummy, while Lily faced a Geodude dummy. Amanda had watched tons of battles on TV and on the Internet while Lily had never watched one, so it was logical to see Lily fumbling with her Pokédex to look at Seel's moves, whereas Amanda proceeded to train Pikachu with the dummy.

"Pikachu, battle!" She commanded, instinctively. Pikachu looked at his trainer and got into a battle stance; standing on all fours with all legs apart, tail raised and eyes on the enemy or in this case, the dummy.

"Thundershock!"

Pikachu's cheeks crackled with electricity and then he launched a streak of electricity at the dummy. It took the brunt of the hit and some parts of it showed small specks of black.

"Excellent, Amanda!" Prof. Elm praised over the speakers..

"Pikachu, Thundershock!"

The Pokémon repeated the action and this time pieces of the dummy started smoldering, but stopped as soon as they had started. By this time, Lily had figured it out and calmly shouted to Seel,

"Seel, battle!"

Seel got into its battle stance; arms on the floor acting as a balance for his pipedal body, tail higher than his head, and eyes locked onto the dummy.

"Seel, Headbutt it!"

Seel tucked himself in and then launched himself like a rocket at the dummy. His head connected with the dummy and a small puncture was made in it.

"Lilly, seems like you're finally getting the hang of things?" Prof. Elm blared through the speaker.

Lily grinned as a proud reply.

"Well, let's pump it up a bit, shall we?" Prof. Elm boomed. A clank was heard, and the dummies started moving towards the Pokémon.

 _ **Some kind of machinery is making them move forward. I'll just have to get Pikachu behind it to deliver a blow that'll**_ _ **short it out**_ _ **… Aha!**_ __Amanda judged.

"Pikachu, dodge, then Thundershock!"

Pikachu waited patiently and allowed the dummy to get close enough then nimbly scampered out of the way as it rushed on through, heading straight for Amanda. Amanda had faith in her Pokémon and stood right where she was. A blast was heard and the dummy stopped, inches from Amanda. Pikachu popped his head out from behind it.

He squeaked while running over to its Trainer, who petted him with affection before taking a look at Lily's side of the simulated battle.

 **Meanwhile…**

Lily was surprised as the dummy started moving. She unwittingly commanded Seel to tackle the moving dummy. Seel lunged at the dummy but was knocked back by it and whimpered as he hit the floor.

"No! Seel!" Lily exclaimed.

The dummy picked up speed and was edging closer. She ran up to her Pokémon as he got balanced again. She rubbed his head and he looked at her as she looked at the strategy Amanda used and modified it. She waited until the dummy was close enough and put her plan into action.

"Seel! Powder Snow!"

Seel sucked in air and let it out as a fine layer of powdery snow. It hit the bull's eye mark; the hole, and a bit of frost formed.

"Powder Snow! Harder!"

This time Seel balanced on his tail as he vacuumed air into his lungs. He blasted the dummy with snow and frost formed all over it, with a layer of ice over the hole. According to Lily's expectations the dummy stopped.

"Yeah!" the green-haired teenager cried as she hugged her Pokémon, who licked her playfully and squealed.

 **Normal POV:**

The sound of clapping was heard through the speaker.

"Wonderful, you two! It seems you two are both ready for the outside. Good luck on your journey!" Professor Elm said, after which the whirring of machinery was heard. A door opened and the girls could see the big, apple tree that provided shade outside the lab. Lily and Amanda shook hands after withdrawing their Pokémon.

"So, we're traveling together aren't we?" Amanda stated, to which Lily nodded. She chuckled and pointed to Amanda's back,

"You forgot your backpack, Amanda. No way are we traveling like that." Amanda looked over her shoulder and noticed it too.

"Oh. My. Arceus. Later!" Amanda exclaimed to Lily as she hurried off to her home.

"Mom! I forgot my-" A breathless Amanda panted as she burst through the door, her explanation cut short as she saw her mom holding up her black backpack with blue pockets and straps. A few more minutes, and Amanda was on her journey. She was ready.

 _ **Edit 26/2/18:**_ **This is the slightly modified version of Pokémon GX: Amanda's Journey, which I hope to improve on quite well. Archivewriter2 is the profile which I used to post the original story; you can go over there and use it as a cross-reference. The rating has been bumped up to T** **for a reason; life's dealt some harsh blows, and let's just say my level of 'innocence' will reflect in this story. I've also been slightly depressed lately, but I get by. I'll probably be posting this around march, so I'm sure I'll be fine by then.**

 _ **Edit 13/3/18:**_ **Right now i'm fine, and i'll als** **o be doing this at the end of every chapter;**

 **Amanda's Pokémon**

 **-Pikachu (Male)**

 **Lily's Pokémon**

 **-Seel (Male)**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: First Taste of Blood**

Amanda and Lily did a bit of small talk as they started on route 29. They would stop by a bush and look for berries occasionally, but so far, they had no luck. Then they got to an area of tall grass. Lily was about to walk right into it but Amanda stopped her.

"Lily, when you fish, do you fish _in_ the water, or _by_ the water?" She warned.

Lily immediately understood and followed her friend's lead around the fairly large patch of grass. They were still wary of what lay in it, so they had one eye on the path and another on the patch. Before they could pass it, buzzing was heard. Out of the grass flew a pair of angry bug Pokémon!

They were large, mostly red, ladybug-like Pokémon. They had two black antennae, a black neck, and a black spot in the center of their foreheads. One's antennae were shorter than the other, indicating that they were male and female. Their two eyes were large, blue, and slanted. They had four black arms with white hands clenched into fists. Their two legs were similar to their arms, but they endes with large red feet. Their backs were red with large black spots, and the undersides of their elytra were yellow. They had a single pair of clear wings that could be folded underneath their elytra.

Amanda and Lily hastily threw their Pokéballs and released their Pokémon to combat the Ledian. Lily still hadn't gotten used to catching the ball though, and it went whizzing over her head.

"Whoops. AH!" She cried, as she saw her Pokémon being pummeled by one of the Ledian with a Comet Punch.

Seel couldn't keep count of the fists as they connected with different parts of his body in a blur. Meanwhile, Amanda commanded Pikachu to Thundershock the other Ledian. The attack connected with the ladybird Pokémon, and it flew back and clicked in pain. Amanda took a look at Seel, and decided to help him out. The Pokémon had blue-black bruises nearly everywhere on his body. Pikachu anticipated Amanda's command and delivered a Thundershock to the Ledian, who also clicked its hidden mandibles in pain. Amanda fist pumped into the air while uttering a celebratory "All right!" but was cut short when Lily got wide-eyed and yelled,

"Look, Pikachu!"

Amanda looked back at her Pokémon to see it being Tackled to the ground. She narrowed her eyes and went in.

She quickly commanded her Pokémon to dodge the on-coming Tackle. Pikachu squealed in delight at the sight of his partner, and then focused on his opponent. The Ledian evidently didn't suspect what was coming as it blindly rushed forward. Once Pikachu was behind it, Amanda commanded her Pokémon to Thundershock it. The mouse-like Pokémon scurried closer to the enemy, then delivered a full-on Thundershock to the Pokémon's back. Its back smoldered a bit, and then it lay down on the ground, twitching. Amanda was a bit disgusted with the Pokémon, so she watched it lose consciousness, after which she went over to look at Lily.

She came back to see a good-bad sight. The good part was that she was looking at a Seel and a dead or unconscious-you really couldn't tell-, smashed up Ledian, and the bad part was that Seel was barely standing. He had bruises everywhere, and his face was a bit bloody. He half-crawled, half limped back to his trainer and lay down by her, breathing heavily. Lily sprayed some potion on his wounds, which made the swelling to go down and the bleeding to stop, as Amanda withdrew her Pokémon and walked up to her. Lily sniffled a bit and withdrew Seel back into its ball. Amanda looked up to her to cheer her up, but was thwarted as the girl simply shook her head. As she smiled and stood up to talk to Amanda she snickered,

"Hey, my first Pokémon battle. I gotta be proud of myself, not to sniffle like a girl who lost her Teddiursa plushy. Although I have lost a lot of plushies…"Saying the last sentence in a bit of a whisper.

Amanda smiled at the remark Lily made about herself, although she laughed a bit at the last part. Lily frowned and gave her a glare that made her shut up. They both stood up tall and walked away from the grass.

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 _ **It's amazing how Lily can become happy so quickly,**_ Amanda wondered, as she saw Lily prancing around, behaving as if nothing had happened, barely _two_ minutes after the battle that sent her downhill.

 _ **Or is it just forgetfulness? Well if it is, I'**_ _ **s**_ _ **ure**_ _ **wouldn't**_ _ **like to have that dose of blissful ignorance.**_ Amanda pondered.

She stopped thinking, and picked up her pace to keep up with her jogging mate. Lily looked back for two seconds and didn't notice that she stepped into some grass. If it weren't for Amanda's warning one of the _dozen_ Rattata that lunged at her, surely would've gotten her for sure. She stumbled backwards just in time, as the hissing and growling litter of rat Pokémon would've chewed her feet off. She threw Seel's Pokéball again, a bit more accurate this time, but still couldn't catch it hence the ball went flying into a bush. Seel came out of his ball, battered, but wounds slowly healing. Amanda rushed to Lily's side with Pikachu, who had been called out of his ball already. But one good look at the odds that were against them, and the logical thing that came out of both of the teenage mouths was,

"RUN!"

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They were going as fast as they could, with Seel dragging them back because of its shuffle style of moving and all. Lily closely dodged a Bite by a Rattata that would have connected with her foot, if Seel didn't blow it away with Powder Snow. Lily smiled at her Pokémon whose eyes shimmered in return, but was interrupted by a yelp of pain from Amanda. Lily screamed when she saw it; a Rattata had caught up to her and made a large leap at her leg, giving her a nasty nip. She stumbled and fell, but quickly/turned to face the rat Pokèmon. Blood was trickling out of the wound and Amanda decided to try and fight it out, using Pikachu as fodder until she got to a safe distance.

"Pikachu, Thundershock!

Her Pokémon faced the tsunami of little Rat Pokemon with bared teeth before squeaking furiously while gathering electricity. The current generated was obviously stronger than any of Pikachu's previous Thundershocks because it was so strong, it outright killed three of them and slightly charred the others. Pikachu shook for a few seconds before falling to the side from over exertion.

Amanda returned her only Pokemon to its ball while the remainder of the Rattata rushed at her, hissing and squeaking with primal rage. She backtracked, but obviously wouldn't make it.

"Powder Snow!"

Just then, a cold gust of air laced with fine particles of frost and snow blew past Amanda, nailing two Rattata at once. They stumbled and fell, sliding to a stop while the others dodged around the two fallen Rattata and kept moving.

Lily grabbed Amanda's shoulders and pulled her to safety while ordering Seel to keep using Powder Snow. Eventually, the onslaught of frigid air and snow scared away the rest, leaving Amanda and Lily safe for now.

Lily returned her Pokèmon before helping Amanda clean the injury with some water from her canteen, before applying some first aid to her.

"T-thanks Lily." Amanda said through gritted teeth as some potion was applied, and the wound forming a tender scab of pink skin.

"No prob, Amanda. That was intense."

"Yeah..."

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Amanda had caught one of the two fallen Rattata and named him Joey after a character used in general Pokemon safety videos in school about how _not_ to be a trainer. Joey only trained one Pokemon; a Rattata, wore clothes that didn' t have protective meshing weaved into them and was ten years old, traveling alone, amongst other wrong things.

She and Lily had been walking for a few minutes, but had gotten tired after all the excitement had drained out of their systems. Lily had opened her mouth to say something time and time again, but she soon closed it. Amanda was simply too focused on getting to Cherrygrove to notice.

Sometime around ten, they stopped at a small wild orchard of trees to rest. The trees had no fruit on them, which sort of disappointed the girls even though they knew that it wasn't that time of year.

"All this action has made me sleepy. Permission to grab some Z's, captain?" Lily asked in jest with a yawn.

"Permission granted, Private." Amanda replied playfully before watching Lily doze off a few minutes later.

She petted Pikachu- a little rest had done him some good, although his electric sacs were nearly drained- and held Joey's Pokéball up to the Pokédex lens. She saw a Rattata in a simple clearing in some grass with a hole in the middle, probably for it to give birth to and keep babies. She read;

 **No. 019 Rattata, the rat Pokémon.**

 **This is a purple, rat-like Pokémon. This Pokémon's impressive vitality allows it to live anywhere. It also multiplies very quickly. The range of things it regards as edible is very widespread. It also possesses impressive speed that makes up for its lack of special attacks.**

 **This Rattata is** **male** **and knows the moves;** _ **Tail Whip, Quick Attack, Growl, Bite.**_

After getting the Trainer Program for her Rattata's Pokéball online, Amanda stretched a bit and decided to walk around a bit to see if there were any berry bushes around. She _was_ apprehensive about leaving her best friend unattended, so she left Pikachu there and went out with her new Rattata's Pokéball on her belt.

After some searching, she found an Oran berry bush with juicy, ripe berries for the picking. After grabbing a handful, Amanda had an excellent idea after hearing some bird Pokémon cries around. Sending out her Rattata and concealing it in the bush was the easy part. Getting it _not_ to eat all the berries before any bird Pokémon showed up was the hard part.

After what seemed like days to Amanda, a few shadows showed in the heat of the afternoon sun. Amanda raised her eyes to see two bird Pokémon-probably mates-circling the bush.

They were small, plump-bodied avian Pokémon. They were primarily brown with cream-coloured faces, undersides and flight feathers. Both their feet and beaks were a pinkish-gray colour. They had black, angular markings around their eyes, and a small crest of brown and cream feathers above their eyes.

Joey was looking at her from the latter's position clearly within earshot of the rat Pokémon, but still concealed. Mentally counting down, Amanda readied herself to give the command at the precise time.

The Pidgey had landed…

 _ **Wait for it…**_

They had approached the bush and were now poking their beaks through it…

 _ **Just a little closer…**_

The bigger of the two noticed two eyes glaring at him from within, and panicked, flailing about and hitting his mate deeper into the bush.

 _ **Now!**_

"Bite!" Amanda commanded, jumping out of her hiding place with a handful of rocks which immediately revealed their purpose to the two hollow-boned bird Pokémon.

The male had recovered and Pecked angrily at Amanda's Rattata, who had latched onto the left wing of the smaller female. Amanda saw her chance and threw all the rocks with all her strength, hitting the male more times than she had intended with a weak squawk following. There was a sickening crunch heard as Rattata bit down harder on the trapped Pidgey's wing, earning a screech of pain. Amanda did not dare to look at the mess; she nearly lost her breakfast after the sound.

"Well, here goes nothing!" Amanda thought out loud, taking out two Pokéballs and aiming at the pair.

As soon as the ' _Ping_ ' was heard, the teen trainer tossed the balls lightly, not wanting to hurt the Pidgey more than she and Rattata had already. She didn't notice the eerie stillness of the male who had been silent ever since she had performed an improvised 'Rock Throw'.

The two Pokémon were absorbed and then came the wait…

After being sure that the two bird Pokémon had been successfully captured, Amanda checked up the female Pidgey with her Pokédex and saw it resting peacefully in a tree nest made of twigs, leaves and down feathers. She smiled as she saw it and a name immediately came to mind.

"Skye. I'll call her Skye" She said to her Rattata, who only cocked her head.

The happy moment was quickly shattered and burnt to ashes when she saw nothing for the male Pidgey except nutritional values, mass, weight and other such stuff. She refreshed her screen a dozen times, but each time the Pokéball was still registering the Pidgey like a Container would. With wide, tearful eyes, Amanda realized the awful truth as she sent out the Pokémon…

"He's d-dead… I-I killed him. Not Rattata, but me…"She sobbed, feeling the impact of what she had just done.

Sadness quickly faded into guilt and then fear. In a normal circumstance, she was already being unethical with the way she baited the Pidgey. Also, killing a Pokémon wasn't as bad as killing a person, but depending on the situation and the Pokémon, it could get you let off with a warning or sent to jail for weeks, months or even years!

Amanda panicked; she was at a loss at what to do. Suddenly she noticed the bloody face of her Rattata and had a sickening idea.

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Amanda was through vomiting to her heart's content off-route and had now come back to the scene of the 'crime' after Rattata was through. She had already picked out a place for the rat Pokémon to dig a small 'den' though, and all that remained was to get the body… or what remained of it.

Amanda gagged as she saw the bloody, mutilated body of the Pidgey. She had left Rattata to do her business but had walked in on the rat Pokémon, thinking she was through, which led to the vomiting episode. There were feathers, and blood everywhere, but the most nauseating sight was the body that was clearly gutted and abused beyond reasonable description.

Just after she had left the body of the Pokémon to decay in peace, she received a phone call. Amanda's heart missed several beats and was making up for those by beating faster than a machine gun could fire. She calmed herself, knowing that no one had seen her and the fear was just in her imagination. She steadied her voice and answered the call, which was from no one other than…

"Hello?! Amanda?! It is Three-Frickin' Forty Five and I'm getting tired of waiting for you! I've been here for two hours!" Lily's incredibly annoyed voice boomed.

Amanda was relieved to hear Lily's voice again, even if it was an angry one. As a matter of fact, she was feeling lonely and choked ever since she had realized the Pidgey was dead.

"I'm sorry, Lily; I'll be right over there in a flash. I'll even bring a peace offering of Oran berries." Amanda pleaded in jest. In reality though, she winced as she remembered the Oran berry bush that started all this.

"Really? The empress is pleased. I'll let you in on a little secret; I caught a Nidoran Female! She's so cute! I named her Rose and I also named Seel Leon. He didn't seem to like it at first, but that's what I'm calling him! You should name your Pokémon too; adds to the personalization, ya know?"

"Yeah… I'll get back to you later, Lily."

After Amanda cut the call, she felt better. Way better. Sure the pain of what she had done would stay with her, but she felt better now that she had talked to another person, albeit not about 'it'.

She took a look at Pikachu's Pokèball, thinking hard for his name. Then she was hit with inspiration; Bolt! She thought the name was okay, but what was an important factor to her was the number of syllables it contained; the shorter the syllables, the faster she could give commands.

The teen quickly registered the new name in her Pokémon's Pokéball so he would answer the name when called with it. It _would_ take some time to fully teach the Pokémon their new names, so until then Amanda would stick with Pikachu and Rattata if she had to.

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"Where have you been?! Pikachu's been scouting all over for you!"Lily scolded, angrily tapping her foot with an outstretched hand.

"Well, long story short… I caught t-I mean aPidgey. Here are some Orans for my trouble. I'll go give some to Bolt."

A few minutes after eating the small, bland tasting berries, Pikachu, Lily and Amanda felt re-energized as the fast-acting vitamins and minute caffeine-like properties did their work.

With the energy that they gained, the duo trekked on to their first stop on their journeys as Pokémon trainers; Cherrygrove city.

 **Finally** , **the** **second chapter is done! If anyone dislikes me for the scene with the Pidgey, I apologize, but I need Amanda's innocence to be taken down a notch or two because of all the trials she's going to face. Apart from that, remember to review, because it helps me a lot when someone gives me suggestions. Where I live, there really isn't anyone knowledgeable about such like I am, so my suggestions are usually thought over by myself. Sometimes I just sit in my room and stare at the wall, thinking. Whoever walks in on me usually thinks I'm just imagining my 'stuff' as usual.**

 **The next chapter's gonna be good. If you read the first version of this story, you would know what I mean...**

 **Archivewriter3... Signing out!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: The Danger of Living**

Cherrygrove city was a basically small energetic place, in comparison with every other place in all of Johto.

"Wow. I've never been to another city before," Amanda admitted, awe-struck.

"Ugh. This is so not what I expected, being called a city, and all."Lily snickered, earning herself a playful glare.

The two had gotten there around four PM, so there was time to heal up at the Pokémon Center as well as explore a bit. When both trainers had gotten to the aforementioned building, they quickly assessed the fairly large and vital building; There was a healing center with a nurse happily acting as the receptionist and healing Pokémon, a stairway leading to the residential quarters where trainers slept for the night, a corridor leading to the training rooms, and the main hall that lead to all of the access ways. Both of the tired girls nodded at each other and proceeded to the counter, where a Nurse had finished attending to a trainer. Amanda and Lily both exchanged pleasantries with the Nurse, and gave her their Pokéballs for her to heal their Pokémon. Amanda and Lily watched as the Nurse simply placed the Pokéballs on a grooved tray and slotted the tray into a machine. The Pokéballs glowed briefly with a red light and then stopped. After typing some stuff on a computer hooked up to the machine, she gave the girls back their Balls.

"You two are pretty good at this. Most rookies don't catch a Pokémon until they get to route 30. Anyway, with the efficiency and help of the new Energy transmitter, your Pokémon are all healed. The more grievous injuries we Nurses still handle, though. Have a nice night." the Nurse remarked eight a never-waning smile.

Lily got the room key from Nurse Joy and walked off to get the room ready while Amanda went out to buy some food.

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Amanda walked up to a Gentleman on his Rapidash that was gently trotting through the street and politely asked him where she could get something to eat. She was directed to a nearby building placed just in front of the channel of the sea that passed through Cherrygrove. While she walked off, she looked back to see the Gentleman gallop away on his Rapidash into route 30, north of the city.

 _ **I'll take route 30 on tomorrow. But right now I think I better get some food or I won't live that long!**_ Amanda thought to herself with a growling stomach.

She took the small, paved track of the road that ended right in front of the establishment. Right before Amanda entered inside, she stopped to take a good look at the restaurant. Her mother had ingrained in her the habit of looking a building over to analyze its quality when she was six, and she unconsciously practiced it now. It was a modest looking place; brown in color and red at the two large windows. But it was no meager thing, though. Amanda could already see the amount of people in there, courtesy of the windows. She walked in was greeted with a warm, cheery atmosphere. And oh, the food! She could see people being served delicious meals, and rushed over to the counter to buy some. After she had finished purchasing, she casually strolled out back to the Pokémon centre.

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 **Meanwhile back at the Pokèmon Centre...**

After running about looking for the room with the same number on the key she was holding, Lily had finally found the room that she and Amanda would be staying in for the night. It was cream colored, and had all the basic essentials; a bathroom, a bed, and a TV. Lily heaved a sigh of relief and jumped onto the bed to 'test how bouncy it was'. After rolling on the bed for two a little, she sat up and released Seel to take a look at how he was. He looked brand new! Seel let out a squeal and rubbed its head on his trainer's leg.

"Aww, you are just so cute, Leon!" Lily cried, when her Starter looked up at her and had a gleam in his eyes.

Just then, her stomach growled loudly, reminding her that she hadn't had lunch.

"Ugh. When will Amanda come back? I'm starving!" She growled in a way that was not too different than the sounds coming from her stomach.

Leon squealed to get his trainer's attention, and started clapping. Not able to resist the urge, Lily bent down to pet her starter. Just then she was conscious that her long hair wasn't drooping over her shoulders like it was supposed to.

"Oh, Arceus… Please let my hair be okay-AAH!" Lily silently prayed after which she let out a scream of terror as she found her green hair in a complete mess. It was so ruffled, that it became stiff to the touch, not the silky feeling Lily was used to.

Lily, without thinking twice, jumped into the bathroom to have a bath. When she was through with pampering her hair every way she knew how, it became silky and smooth again. Then it hit her like Leon's Headbutt; she forgot that she didn't get her completely yellow pajamas in with her. She would have fetched it herself, but two things occurred to her; she would get the carpet wet, and she had a perfect opportunity to test out some commands that a trained Seel is supposed to have.

"Leon, let's test your 'fetch-ability'. _Fetch the bag!_ " She coaxed, hoping that Seel would understand.

She had clearly underestimated the learning ability of a Seel, as the Sea lion Pokémon understood what she said. He went over to her backpack, put its slack handles in its mouth, and waddled into the bathroom, where he dropped it in front of the shower with a cute bark. Lily sure was surprised! She zipped open her backpack and put her pajamas on and as she came out, Lily and Pikachu came in.

Amanda dropped the food on the bed and looked up to see Lily in her least favorite nightwear.

"So, finally decided to take the non-expensive, _durable_ pajamas that you supposedly 'hated', Eh?" She emphasized, suppressing a chuckle.

"Well, it isn't stylish, nor is it my color, but it can be worn for days without giving it a wash, so it was the obvious choice." Lily sharply retorted.

The subject was quickly changed when all stomachs in the room roared like a pride of Pyroar using Hyper Voice.

Amanda quickly offloaded the food, which consisted of salad and rice cakes for Lily, who was a vegetarian, and a soda and rice cakes for Amanda as well.

"Why are you eating rice cakes? I thought your fave was Pidgey Burgers. You really don't have to because I'm vegan, you know..." Lily observed, sort of sorry that her friend was giving up her meat because of her.

"N-na, I'm fine. Just wanted to try it out for once, heh-heh-heh..." Amanda stuttered nervously.

The only reason she wasn't eating any dish with meat was her experience with the Pidgey. She had nearly gagged when Lily mentioned Pidgey burgers, but she quickly held herself back.

Trying her best to shake off the thoughts, Amanda got a few small bowls out from her bag, and then sent out Bolt, Joey and Skye. Lily decided to feed her Pokèmon after Amanda, since the room was a bit too small for all of them.

Getting a few packets out of her purchased items, Amanda poured out some moist Cornn for Bolt and an assortment of dried berry seeds for Skye and Joey, after which she went back to her food, which she ate slowly and deliberately.

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With dinner settled, Lily went straight to bed-she said something about getting all the beauty sleep she needed- while Amanda went out on a walk around the city.

She had walked aimlessly for at least 30 minutes before she remembered that she was a Trainer and had to get some important stuff.

She walked into a store that promised a discount on everything training related-thanks, government!- and bought a few things, after which she went back to the training facilities. She decided to start the training for her Pokémon immediately so she could increase her ratio of success in battles. She really didn't want to become a slacker.

The training facility was mostly underground, with halls that specialized in different Pokémon types. She went into the hall for flying types, which was considerably bigger than the other halls, and found a few side rooms. She really wasn't going to trade a larger space for privacy, so she stayed in the hall to train.

After sending out her Pidgey, she saw another trainer coming to her and her automatic assessment kicked in.

He was around the same age as Amanda with chocolate coloured skin, a crew cut of black hair and brown eyes. He wore a plain white t-shirt and some loose blue denim jeans coupled with oxblood red sneakers with white soles and laces.

"Hi. Not to interrupt you, but you're in my rectangle." He stated, pointing at a red line of tape that encompassed a good chunk of the hall.

"Oh. Sorry. Quick question; can my Pidgey train with yours? He looks bigger." Amanda asked, seeing that the trainer's Pidgey was a few inches taller than hers.

"Hmm, okay. What do you want to do? My name's Josh by the way." The trainer now identified as Josh consented.

"The name's Amanda. I need to use Skye's smaller size to my advantage in battles, so speed training's what I'm doing tonight. Your Pidgey simply has to chase after her. Think you can do that for me?" The teen trainer explained, bringing out a whistle from her pocket that she had bought just for Skye.

"Let's start right away! Crest, chase!"

 **The next day…**

Amanda and Lily woke up refreshed and ready for the day. Amanda had gotten back a little bit late, but received no scolding from her friend, who was already asleep when she got back. The duo freshened up and immediately went downstairs to hunt for food, but they were surprised to see that the atmosphere had changed; the place was virtually empty! The teens chalked it up to the fact that people left in the day, but they still expected more people.

Once the duo entered the restaurant from last night, Amanda and Lily were greeted by a whole other atmosphere than before, one of dullness and normality. Amanda was definitely surprised that she saw that there was only one person there; a Gentleman drinking some coffee. They strolled over to the counter and asked the attendant what happened.

"Do you see the entrance there?" She asked, pointing at the entrance to the city, "People come into this city at night to rest, so there's a lot of activity. But once its morning, they move away to Route 30 and forget we ever existed."

Amanda and Lily felt sympathy for the city and after getting their breakfasts went over to route 30 with a heavy heart.

Once again, a bare _3 minutes_ after them leaving Cherrygrove, Lily was prancing around with Rose, totally oblivious of what had just happened before.

 _ **Is this what the attendant was talking about? That people just forget about the city like that?**_ Amanda wondered to herself.

She was brought out of her musing by the sounds of Lily commanding Rose. There was only one Pokémon there; a Rattata, so Amanda decided to just watch.

 **Lily's POV:**

I commanded Rose to lunge at the pesky Rattata that had tried to ambush me, but it was faster, and jumped out of the way. My female Nidoran had stubby legs, but if she could even scratch the Rattata with any of the poisonous barbs covering her back _or_ with her small horn, the battle would be over before it went any further. Part of me hoped that it wouldn't come to that, and the Rattata would run away, but the other part of me wanted Rose to beat it into a pulp.

I told Rose to lunge again, and this time, she had a direct hit on the Rattata's left shoulder with her horn. The Rattata writhed in pain for a few moments before darting into the grass, after which I returned Rose.

 **Normal POV:**

Amanda clapped for Lily and she made a mock bow in return. The duo continued travelling into the day until they reached Dark cave; an unexplored cave that was not lit in any way due to an effort not to disturb the wild Pokemon living in there. One could still get through it, but they would need a Flash TM. Or a couple of lanterns.

Amanda and Lily got back on the trail after trying and failing to enter the cave without lighting, and soon they reached a Ranger outpost, where they would rest for the night before continuing their journey the next day. They would still be able to get to Violet if they travelled a bit into the night, but that wasn't really safe, and the girls didn't even _think_ about abandoning a clean bed and good food for roughing it in the wilderness.

After booking a room for the night, Amanda and Lily decided to have their first battle as trainers.

They walked a few ways away from the outpost, back the way they came, but they went into a small cluster of trees closely sprinkled together. It looked private enough, and the local Hoothoot were probably asleep, so it was as safe as it could be at the time.

"Two on two?" Amanda asked, to which Lily nodded.

"Bolt! Battle!"

"Rose! Battle!"

The Pikachu and Nidoran Female stared each other down, waiting for a command.

"Thunderwave!"

"Dodge!"

Bolt's jolt of electricity was dodged by the less speedy Rose, who scampered to the side.

"Thundershock!"

"Poison sting!"

"Dodge! Thundershock!" Amanda ordered, feeling a rush come over her. It was the pure ecstasy she got when telling her Pokèmon to act on her will. She quickly refocused.

"Scratch!"

"Thundershock!"

"Dodge! Poison Sting!"

"Dodge!"

"Scratch!"

"Thundershock!"

"Dodge!"

The volley continued, until a Thundershock glanced Rose's left, slightly charring the Nidoran female's hide. She squeaked in pain but was still able to scratch Bolt with her claws. Amanda withdrew her Pokemon once she saw that one of Rose's quills had pierced through Bolt's skin; she really didn't want to risk poison.

Sending out Joey was Amanda's next decision, and the two rodents duked it out.

"Hyper Fang!"

"Poison Sting!"

"Dodge!"

"Poison Sting!"

"Dodge! _Quta_!"

Lily was at a loss of what to do; she was mainly lucky so far, although she had decided to research and watch trainer battles online. She didn't have a clue what that custom command meant, so she ordered a dodge.

Joey dashed at Rose with lightning-fast speed. The Nidoran female was knocked down before she could even react. Lily didn't even dare to try and decipher her friend's code.

"Quta!"

"Poison Sting!"

"Dodge, Hyper Fang!"

Rose couldn't dodge fast enough, and Joey scored a hit right on the Nidoran Female's injured flank with his fangs. Lily returned her urgently after Joey's Hyper Fang turned into a Bite.

"You win, Amanda. I really need to steel my resolve for battling. Maybe i'm just going to train to be a Coordinator..." Lily said, feeling dissapointed in herself.

"Oh, don't beat yourself up about it, Lily. I'll support you no matter what you pursue as a trainer. Now, let's head back so we can get dinner early." Amanda assured, hugging her friend.

The two teen trainers went back to the Ranger Outpost, but then they were confronted by a person that Amanda knew; Josh!

"Hey, Amanda!" The beforementioned trainer called out, waving as he walked through the sparse crowd in the lobby to her.

"Ooooh! Who's that? Is that a catch?" Lily sang, winking at her friend, who hit her side with her elbow in mock anger as she hissed at her to shut up.

Josh made his way to the two with little difficulty, as the crowd seemed to grow thicker from the amount of people moving in and Rangers moving out.

''Hi, Josh? What's happening? I thought you would be in Violet by now.'' Amanda said as Josh led the group towards one of the two plasma tv's present in the lobby that most people where crowding around.

"You two didn't hear? Route 31… It's been blocked off by Rangers." Josh said, his cheery visage darkening.

"What?! Why?!" Lily exclaimed as Amanda took a look at the video footage on TV from a Ranger on the scene.

Both girls gasped just as the TV showed the headline;

' **Flock of Bird** **Pokémon Rampage against Horde of Rodent Pokemon on Route. Three trainers confirmed dead. Six still missing.'**


End file.
